John Francis Ryder

Details on John’s start in life and family background are not known but at age 18 he joined the Navy in the summer heat of 1859. He was on board…

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James Pollock

James had the same name as both his father and grandfather and was living with them, his mother, and three siblings in County Donegal when Ireland’s 1901 census was taken.…

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James McFarland

James was a grandson of Irish immigrants, the first-born son of William James McFarland, who was a Civil War veteran who was wounded and held as a prisoner of war.…

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John Gibson

As a 16-year-old, John was working in a brickyard and living with his parents, four younger brothers, and an older sister. He had some other jobs but found what he…

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James Kelly

James was the only child of James and Eliza Kelly, who arrived in Philadelphia from Ireland in 1850 and were lifelong members of Southwestern Presbyterian Church. He was married in…

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George W. Devitt

The Devitt family included at least eight children, with one not living past three years. They benefited from the aid of a live-in servant, thanks to the thriving business at…

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Charles E. Wilson

Charles grew up with two younger brothers in the Queen Village section of Philadelphia where his father was a cooper, making barrels for a sugar refiner on the banks of…

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William Edwin Mason

The Masons came from Maine to Philadelphia a few years after Edwin was born. (Marriage and census documents show his first name as Edwin since that is how he was…

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Francis Sims Morozzi

An Italian New Yorker named Angelo Morozzi met and married an Irish Philadelphian, Emma Robertson, on August 30, 1863 when he was 36 years old and she was 30. She…

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William Davis Johnston

Other than his birth in New Jersey, William’s early years are undocumented until he was 22 years old and became the groom of Anna McManus. The wedding ceremony was in…

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